mobilizing growth in rural india
an article in toi from yesterday talks about the cellphone market in the country, and how it is seeing new-age users like farmers, fruit sellers, who use these phones to boost their businesses. handset manufacturers are now trying to capitalize on this growing demand. here's a summary of the article:
according to a study done by lirneasia and ac nielson, close to 100 million new cellular subscribers are expected to come from the rural areas over the next two years.
nokia recently commissioned a research called mobility development report through the centre for knowledge societies to understand the nuances of this spawning market opportunity. the report identifies seven service areas, namely transport, micro-commerce, finance, healthcare, governance, education and infotainment which could be transformed for rural communities by mobile communications. for instance, public transport is not available in 45% of villages in india, and only 1% of indian households own a vehicle. mobile communication could be used to create and coordinate car-sharing schemes amongst villages, and provide real-time information about public transport service and the ability to make request stops.
the country adds six million new mobile subscriptions every month. the teledensity has increased to 20.52% in july 2007 from 19.86% in june 2007, according to trai. one in every five persons now owns a telephone as the total number of subscribers reached 232.87 million by july.
the total wireless subscriber base has touched 192.98 million now. the rural markets contribute about 5% of the national gsm handset sales, according to a study by lirneasia and ac nielson. this is expected to rise by 25-30% by 2009. and by the end of next year, 3/4ths of india's population will be covered by a mobile network.
the handset makers like nokia, motorola, samsung, lg, and sony ericsson are trying hard to get their indian formula right, to capitalize on the rural market. after extensive study, nokia realized that there are certain aspects of the form factor to be kept in mind. e.g. a farmer is not keen on a camera, but radio capabilities are appreciated since these people are used to listening to music on a transistor etc. the three killer applications when it comes to phones for the rural market are an in-built torchlight, an alarm clock, and the ability to communicate using voice. other useful features include rust-resistant keypads, sturdier models, longer battery life (given power supply issues), and easy to use features/buttons.
language capability is key. nokia has introduced localized interfaces in 9 indian languages. motorola has introduced the motofone, which responds to prompts in local languages. audio levels have also been made higher, for indian market conditions etc. as for the display, experts argue that the display must look nice, for ugly handsets will not become popular amongst the poor. also, a good display offers other pluses that are integral to such audiences.
the onus is on providing people in these areas with services that are tailor-made to suit their needs. commodity prices are the biggest draw for this population. all of them have some sort of produce to bring to the market. provision of timely updates would add to the benefits they stand to gain from the phone.
a study by robert jensen (harvard univ.) on the impact of mobile telephony on fishermen in kerala says that mobiles have not only eliminated the need for fishermen to dump unsold fish into the sea, but helped increase their margins by 8% while reducing prices for customers by 4%. moreover, the number of fishermen selling their catch outside their home markets rocketed from 0 to 35%. the fishermen would call around to find the best price. everyone wants information.
the biggest obstacle is the comfort level associated with text options. there needs to be less dependence on these. also, the pricing. the farmer cannot afford to pay rs. 6 a minute to find out commodity prices. another stumbling block is the lack of a distribution channel for supply, maintenance, promotion and communication of the availability of technology.
the onus, in the end, is on service providers. they must ensure last-mile connectivity and availability of relevant information in a usable format so that mobile phones can make life and work in rural india better.
according to a study done by lirneasia and ac nielson, close to 100 million new cellular subscribers are expected to come from the rural areas over the next two years.
nokia recently commissioned a research called mobility development report through the centre for knowledge societies to understand the nuances of this spawning market opportunity. the report identifies seven service areas, namely transport, micro-commerce, finance, healthcare, governance, education and infotainment which could be transformed for rural communities by mobile communications. for instance, public transport is not available in 45% of villages in india, and only 1% of indian households own a vehicle. mobile communication could be used to create and coordinate car-sharing schemes amongst villages, and provide real-time information about public transport service and the ability to make request stops.
the country adds six million new mobile subscriptions every month. the teledensity has increased to 20.52% in july 2007 from 19.86% in june 2007, according to trai. one in every five persons now owns a telephone as the total number of subscribers reached 232.87 million by july.
the total wireless subscriber base has touched 192.98 million now. the rural markets contribute about 5% of the national gsm handset sales, according to a study by lirneasia and ac nielson. this is expected to rise by 25-30% by 2009. and by the end of next year, 3/4ths of india's population will be covered by a mobile network.
the handset makers like nokia, motorola, samsung, lg, and sony ericsson are trying hard to get their indian formula right, to capitalize on the rural market. after extensive study, nokia realized that there are certain aspects of the form factor to be kept in mind. e.g. a farmer is not keen on a camera, but radio capabilities are appreciated since these people are used to listening to music on a transistor etc. the three killer applications when it comes to phones for the rural market are an in-built torchlight, an alarm clock, and the ability to communicate using voice. other useful features include rust-resistant keypads, sturdier models, longer battery life (given power supply issues), and easy to use features/buttons.
language capability is key. nokia has introduced localized interfaces in 9 indian languages. motorola has introduced the motofone, which responds to prompts in local languages. audio levels have also been made higher, for indian market conditions etc. as for the display, experts argue that the display must look nice, for ugly handsets will not become popular amongst the poor. also, a good display offers other pluses that are integral to such audiences.
the onus is on providing people in these areas with services that are tailor-made to suit their needs. commodity prices are the biggest draw for this population. all of them have some sort of produce to bring to the market. provision of timely updates would add to the benefits they stand to gain from the phone.
a study by robert jensen (harvard univ.) on the impact of mobile telephony on fishermen in kerala says that mobiles have not only eliminated the need for fishermen to dump unsold fish into the sea, but helped increase their margins by 8% while reducing prices for customers by 4%. moreover, the number of fishermen selling their catch outside their home markets rocketed from 0 to 35%. the fishermen would call around to find the best price. everyone wants information.
the biggest obstacle is the comfort level associated with text options. there needs to be less dependence on these. also, the pricing. the farmer cannot afford to pay rs. 6 a minute to find out commodity prices. another stumbling block is the lack of a distribution channel for supply, maintenance, promotion and communication of the availability of technology.
the onus, in the end, is on service providers. they must ensure last-mile connectivity and availability of relevant information in a usable format so that mobile phones can make life and work in rural india better.
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